MURDER SUSPECT FACES TRIAL ON SEPARATE ISSUE

San Diego 
A man already accused of playing a role in the 2010 fatal shooting of a San Diego police officer was ordered Friday to stand trial on a conspiracy charge related to the homicide.

Alex Charfauros, 29, is charged along with two others — Rodney Gozum, 37, and his girlfriend Jasmine Fontanoza, 22 — with conspiring to intimidate a witness, a felony. If convicted, they each could be sentenced to up to four years in prison.

At the end of a preliminary hearing that lasted most of the day, San Diego Superior Court Judge Charles Rogers determined that enough evidence was presented for the three defendants to be tried.

Charfauros is scheduled to go to trial Monday in a related case in which he and two other people are accused of murder in the slaying of Officer Christopher Wilson in October 2010. None of the defendants are accused of firing the fatal shot. Gozum and Fontanoza are not charged in the homicide.

A prosecutor argued Friday that the three took part in several conversations in jail and over the phone in which they talked about a witness in the murder case. There were repeated mentions of the witness’ “paperwork,” a written account of the witness’ interview with police.

Charfauros briefly shared a cell with Gozum.

In September, Charfauros and the witness were transported from jail to court and held separately in neighboring holding cells, according to the testimony. The witness told investigators he could see Charfauros holding up the paperwork and a photo of the witness in front of other inmates.

Charfauros made a hand motion, indicating the witness was a “snitch,” an investigator said.

Defense lawyers argued that no evidence was presented showing that any of the defendants engaged in any “meeting of the minds” about the witness, or showed his paperwork to anyone.